America 1982-Chapter 568 - 120: As a Righteous Person, Duty Calls

A secluded corner by the Tidal Basin in Washington.

Page leaned against the car, lit his pipe,, then turned to look at the road, leaving the riverside space about a dozen steps behind him for three suit-clad young men, while he seriously kept watch for them.

Those three, with socks alone worth two hundred bucks, looked like nobility from high society, were now undoing their belts, peeing into the Tidal Basin, betting which one could pee more.

While peeing, Ted, the current owner of The Washington Daily News and the new member director of Stanford University’s SSD back in the day, said with a smirk, "Tommy, I have to be honest with you,, earnestly speaking, ever since I watched a few shows on the BT television network, I’ve written angry letters to the SSD general headquarters multiple times, furiously questioning the leaders. SSD dares not burn a single black person alive, do they also not dare to burn a traitorous white member? What are you waiting for? Hurry up and erect a cross, burn that asshole Tommy Hawk who forgot his oath of membership. I’m willing to pay five thousand bucks just to watch him burn." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Tommy was the first among the three to exhaust his ammunition. He gave it a few shakes and then zipped up his pants without rushing to respond to Ted’s teasing, instead turned his head to see Charles and Ted still maintaining their urinating posture: "Did you motherfuckers drink half the lake water before I arrived, or is your urethra connected to Washington’s water supply?"

Charles Salmon, former president of Stanford’s SSD and assistant researcher at the Washington Peace Research Center National Policy Analysis Institute, sighed dejectedly as he packed away his ’club,’ accepting the harsh reality of being second place.

Ted, on the other hand, managed to squeeze out a few more drops just as Charles was zipping up his pants, then smugly put away his ’tool’ and declared himself the champion: "You assholes have no respect for SSD. Only me, why do you think I suggested such a competition? It’s because the blood of SSD running through me constantly burns, reminding me, spurring me on. Is it just for a trivial pee contest victory? No, it’s for the health of black people. I forced myself to down five gallons of water for them, so when they drink from the Tidal Basin, they’ll feel our kindness. I mean, I wasn’t even this harsh when I forced my girlfriend to do an enema last time."

After graduating, Ted followed in his father’s footsteps, took over the serious political commentary newspaper founded by his father, The Washington Daily News, and then carried out radical reforms. With Tommy’s financial backing, he acquired The Washington Star, which had been beaten to closure by The Washington Post and The Washington Times, successfully shifting the paper’s core audience from political figures in the Washington area, concerned with political commentary and influence, to the general public who enjoyed celebrity gossip and political scandals, losing its influence as a political newspaper.

As a result of his impressive reform strategies, the dutiful son Ted nearly drove his father—one who spent his lifetime pursuing the newspaper’s political influence—to the brink of death. The old man, without even removing his oxygen mask, flew off to Austria and announced he would permanently live in Europe and never return, unwilling to ever again read a newspaper published by his son.

"So, did the headquarters reply to you? Did they tell you where to watch my burning ceremony?" Tommy took out a cigarette, shared it with the two others, and after the three heads gathered around a flame to light their cigarettes, Tommy asked Ted with a smile.

Ted exhaled a puff of smoke, gazed towards the distant Tidal Basin, and said somewhat glumly, "Yeah, of course, they replied. They said if I write another harassing letter to headquarters, slandering a brother within the society, they’d consider revoking my SSD membership and expelling me. I don’t understand, I’m the most devout follower of SSD, and they want to dismiss me, yet they are indifferent towards you, a traitor who provides entertainment for blacks on TV. You didn’t even think about making a show that your SSD brothers would like to watch."

"When I find the time, I’ll spare no expense to make a series you devout followers of SSD would love to watch," Tommy said casually, eyes closed, enjoying the breeze from the Tidal Basin.

Thinking it over, Ted then asked with confusion, "The kind I like to watch, are you sure you can air that on TV?"

Tommy opened his eyes and looked at Ted, "I’m not going to shoot porn, but once I’m done with my business and the blacks have finished playing games with me, and after I win the trust of all the brothers of SSD, I can help you create a series called ’C.S.A,’ not USA, but CSA, the Confederate States of America, a show about America."

"A historical drama? Longing for those good old days when our white-robed elders could keep slaves? Charles, would you watch such a show that sounds like it stinks just by the title?" Ted lost interest as soon as he heard the name, and said disdainfully, then asked Charles, who hadn’t spoken yet.

Charles lifted his arm, revealed his watch to check the time, and said, "I’d rather help pour the water when you’re giving your girlfriend an enema."

"No no no, who told you it’s a traditional historical drama? Of course, it’s also a historical drama; but here’s how I’m planning to shoot it: the first season, the Civil War, with the Confederate States of America beating the United States of America. Southern troops storm The White House, Lincoln flees,, and ultimately gets captured on the US-Canada border, brought back to Richmond for a trial with his Northern rebel minions, accused of violating the constitution of the USA." Tommy, hearing that the two guys were dismissing his idea, started to share his envisioned series plot:

"In subsequent seasons, we can let our imaginations soar. Imagine a world without the USA, but with the CSA; how magnificent could this nation have become over a century? I envision each season to focus on a significant event in American history, adapted with creative reimagining. For instance, how would the Confederate States of America have fared in World War I, or World War II? How would they have dealt with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s? Would Michael Jackson, living in the Confederate States of America, still be accused of harming children? Would countless Haitians dare to migrate illegally to America to settle?"

"We’d take it right up to modern times, satirizing the current national systems and government, showing people that if the Confederacy had won the Civil War, today’s America would never see incidents where rich Black people dare to date white women as equals. I believe that in that world, although it’s impossible for Blacks to be rich, they would certainly be more civilized and docile."

"Cool!" Ted said excitedly after listening, "Just hearing a brief description, I can tell this show will sweep the Emmys. This is the kind of historical drama we need. Put Lincoln on trial, burn him! This idea is brilliant; you’re damn gutsy, Tommy!"

Charles glanced at Ted from the side, "It’s not just that he’s gutsy, Ted. He’s also daring enough to do it. This guy is the craziest member of SSD. All the living brothers are waiting for him to fulfill his promise."

"What promise?" Ted asked, puzzled.

"He made a public vow at a general meeting, as for the content, you, being a minor character, are not privy to it. It happened when I was the chairman." Charles patted both Ted’s and Tommy’s shoulders, "Let’s go, I’ll take you guys for a drink."

"I was thinking about Eric. I called him to come to Washington for a drink, but he’s busy working with Homeland Security or the Natural Resources Bureau on the California fault lines," Tommy said, looking up at the blue sky with a hint of regret.

Although Charles and Ted are his good brothers, his Big brother at Stanford was Eric, the leader of the pack, who, unfortunately, had no interest in politics or business and was only keen on using computers to calculate seismic data and study geology.

The three of them drove to a bar that Charles frequented. Charles started to talk about his work at the think tank. Ted, not much interested in the topic, was quickly distracted by a barmaid and went to chat her up. With his good looks and smooth talk, he soon had a couple of girls laughing gleefully.

Only Tommy was listening intently. After a while, Charles turned to Tommy and said:

"I’ve heard that Japan, South Korea, and China played the United States for a fool. Those two countries were previously working with the United States on a high-profile campaign, but it was just a few days ago that the United States become aware. The supposedly struggling Japan provided China with the previously announced frozen low-interest loan of 5.7 billion US dollars. At the same time, companies such as Sumitomo Bank, Panasonic, Mitsukoshi, Daiwa Bank, Sumitomo Bank, Sony, Toshiba, and others rapidly dispatched employees to China, filling the void left by Western companies that withdrew in response to American sanctions. They used this massive Chinese market as a tourniquet to attempt to repair the substantial economic wounds inflicted by American sanctions. South Korea, although not having formally established diplomatic relations yet, has already begun negotiations and is exchanging officials in the fields of fisheries, tourism, and shipping. Moreover, South Korea is preparing to collaborate with others to establish joint ventures, encouraged by Japan behind the scenes."

"If I were China, I’d choose to cooperate with Japan too. America wants China to refuse and work with them to take down Japan’s powerful financial consortia, but why would killing Japan off benefit them? America isn’t going to offer 5.7 billion US dollars to actually invest in China’s development. Even if Japan hopes to use China as a bandage, at least China has the chance to absorb Japan’s mid-to-low end industry know-how in the collaboration," Tommy commented calmly.

Charles took another sip of his drink and said, "I’ve got word from the Political Public Opinion Research Institute that the government hopes to launch hostile propaganda against these countries in the United States. The message theme would generally be about Japanese companies taking jobs from Americans, South Koreans plundering our social benefits, and concerning China, propagandize them in the same way as the Soviet Union used to be presented to the public."

"The public, when they see this propaganda, will surely be enraged; they’ll despise Asians. Of course, I could make those television networks comply and carry out similar propaganda, but I have a question for you, Charles. Did your mentor, who advises the President, tell you what to do about an Australian Jew who’s making money off the United States, sleeping with American women, yet consistently acts contrary to what the United States Government expects?" Tommy looked at Charles with a serious expression.

"Isn’t that the scenario you’ve always hoped to see? Don’t you want that Australian to be detested by Americans? You’ve even been preparing for it. And before you asked me this, based on my general understanding and guesses about you, I had already asked my mentor a similar question on your behalf," Charles said, taking a sip and looking at Tommy.

"My mentor said that if there were really such a person, patriotic Americans would stand up and teach him a lesson, making him leave this land."

"That’s right, it’s me," Tommy said, his eyes lighting up as he clinked his glass with Charles’s, "As a righteous man, duty calls."